No Joke: Nu Headed In Right Direction

Northwestern football coach Gary Barnett called Saturday's 20-7 victory over Indiana "a step in the right direction . . . just a baby step."

Tailback Dennis Lundy called it "a wakeup call for our campus that Northwestern football is no longer a joke."

So, after ruining homecomings at Air Force, Minnesota and Indiana, the Wildcats (3-3-1, 2-2) will stage their own homecoming Saturday against Illinois, the school that began the annual autumn ceremony.

Lundy, among others, mentioned the Wildcats' still-possible goal of playing in a bowl game. The Cats could finish 6-4-1 and earn a bowl bid if they beat three of their remaining four opponents: Illinois, Michigan State, Iowa and Penn State. Of the four, only Penn State currently ranks ahead of the Cats in the Big 10 standings.

Odds are against NU finishing 6-4-1, but confidence rose after the well-schooled defense blanked Indiana for the final 47 minutes.

The Hoosiers went into the game with a 5-1 record and a well-tuned rushing game that featured Alex Smith, the Big 10's rushing leader and No. 4 in the nation with 174 yards a game.

Stacking eight men near the line and correctly anticipating Smith's runs, the Wildcats limited IU to 88 rushing yards. Smith gained 87 in 23 carries for a modest 3.8 average.

"They had been averaging only 110 passing yards," said Barnett. "We knew they like to run. Our defense was predicated on down and distance. We felt they would run Smith on first down."

Defensive coordinator Ron Vanderlinden's game plan was a gem. Excluding two-minute drills at the end of the half and the game, IU snapped the ball 21 times on first down. Smith ran four of the first five times on first down, gaining 2, 2, 6 and 0. That set the tone. Smith carried on 12 of the 21 first-down plays, netting 54 yards.

The NU defense also excelled on first downs when Smith did not carry. Quarterback John Paci carried twice for 2 yards and completed only 3 of 7 first-down passes for 15 yards.

In other words, the Cats' defensive schemes had the Hoosiers in unfavorable down-and-distance situations most of the day.

The Wildcats came up tough on third downs, too, twice stopping Smith for no gain and forcing punts on third and 1. One of these punts produced a 56-yard TD return by Brian Musso.

"People are going to learn pretty soon that this is not the Northwestern of old," said Musso, a sophomore from Hinsdale Central.

The most significant sight of the day may have been the players themselves as they left the field. They were happy, yet there was little of the hugging and cheering one might expect of a perennial loser that just upset a nationally ranked team. The Wildcats almost reflected the motto that arrived when Barnett did: "Expect Victory."